At the Edge of the Sword
by The Tip of My Tongue
Summary: Blind and abandoned on a hostile planet; one mech finds the courage to trust and the strength to stand up for what he believes in.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers, nor will I ever have such a privilege... That's for the best though, because I'd probably ruin it! XD

**REVISED:**** Chapter 1 and 2 have been slightly revamped. All I've done is corrected a few mistakes(okay, it was a LOT), and I've added a few more details here and there. My beta-reader is on vacation so I won't be uploading a new chapter this week, but I promise(if life doesn't get in the way and all goes according to plans{eh, you know how that goes..}) I will update the Friday of next! I've already written out 10 full pages of it on word document. If you drop in a review specifying you want one, I'll send you a small sneak peek ;) (((warning though, it has not been beta-read))). **

**.**

**At the Edge of the Sword**

**Chapter I**

**Breaking into the Atmosphere**

**.**

"Hailing all friendlies on Earth, do you read me, over."

The mech floating in space waiting a baited moment before again sending out the signal through the regular channel. "Hailing friend-"

"We hear you, we hear you," came the annoyed and slightly static reply, "Have a little patience, will you? What's the situation?" Edge could hear blaster fire from the other end.

"Requesting emergency clearance to land. In need of urgent repairs." There was a brief pause that set the mech's entergon to churning uneasily.

"Granted." came the crisp reply, "We'll contact you later."

With that the connection was severed. Leaving the ebony mech floating in space alone, again.

Edge quickly plotted a course and set off to land in, what the humans called, the Ural Mountains. For the most part, it was inhabitable, a perfect spot for a damaged mech like him to find solitary and wait the beckoning of his team mates.

He would be greatly relieved once a local medic repaired his Visual Receptors. The run in with two hostile mechs had damaged them beyond normal nanites care; that, for the most part, being the worst of it... His scanners were being over worked as it was, being without the constant visual feedback caused havoc with his systems and depleted his energy levels with all the regular and near continuous scanning.

Speaking of which... Edge started up his aching scanner only to have his sensors jolted, when he ran processor on, into... What had he just crashed into? He had been careful to scan for asteroids before he had entered Earth's atmosphere. It was too late now, but he hadn't wanted to repeat a previous experience.

He scanned, rapidly. It hadn't done any damage what ever it-

Ah, it was only the primitive mobile transportation of the humans. They called it a Space Station.

Edge pushed off of it, allowing the momentum to pull him out a bit before he dived into the atmosphere. None the worse beside the few scratches against his ebony paint. They would heal soon enough.

Down, he descended.

~``~``~``~``~``~``.

The dripping wet mech surveyed the flat plain and wondered where he was. His landing hadn't been the greatest, more like a crash in fact. Luckily, he had landed in a pond. Edge activated his bio-scanners and began to worry. Trees, lush green grass, a road.

Something was clearly missing here...

His navigation systems insisted he was on the highest summit of the Ural Mountains. Mount Narodnaya. On the other hand, reading the earth's magnetic field said other wise. Sending him thousands of earth miles North West on the Scandinavian Peninsula, Sweden. So much for pen point precision. He really needed to see a CMO.

He was either more messed up then he had previously assessed or his navigation systems just needed a 'little' fine tuning. Edge was not a happy bot, examining the two different read outs. Either one could be right, both could be wrong.

Edge turned his attention to the matter at hand. He, somehow, had to evade becoming caught or noticed and link up with his teammates. And all this done while his operational capacity running at 74.3%.

What he needed first was some kind of disguise that would allow him to go about the human population virtually unnoticed. He wasn't a Pretender, so he couldn't just walk amongst them. Having already scanned his surroundings, Edge flagged a transportation vehicle that seemed suitable to his needs. Scanned, downloading all of the systematics, and transformed.

Really, it wasn't that bad. The mech lightly rolled his wheels back and forth. A little on the restricting side, but coming from primitive organics-

At that moment a someone drove up, pulling beside Edge. The guy hopped out and, what Edge could tell, surveyed the two look-a-like vehicles.

Edge prepared himself to bolt. Already his cover was nearly blown... perhaps this would be more difficult than previously thought.

"I knew you could do it," said the guy, turning to look toward the large garage. Edge found himself very thankful for the forethought of downloading the languages of the earth. "We'll have Carson's ride delivered on time after all."

A puzzled sound came from the garage.

"Hurry up and get her loaded before the plane takes off." With that the man left, moving in the purposed steps of a busy entrepreneur.

A man stepped out of the garage and strode over to Edge, scratching his head when he saw the two cars. In the end, he shrugged and opened Edge's door and crawling right in.

That was when Edge knew he was in trouble.

**Author's Note:**

This chapter definitely wasn't up to par with my normal standard. For that I apologize for the shortness and overall dullness of the chapter(It's more of an introduction than anything else). I promise it will pick up in the later chapters.

If you're wondering, I tried to keep it as vague about Edge's affiliation as possible, for this reason:

**TRIVIA: **

Name the entrepreneur and you will have Edge's alternate form.

Guess Edge's affiliation.

Thank you for reading and please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**2****nd**** REVISION: ****You've probably already read my note on Chapter one. I'm still trying to learn knack of posting chapters on here. Hopefully, it looks cleaned up a bit. **

**3/1/11-REVISED**: Took the suggestion of a reviewer(THANK YOU!). I've read this over a couple times before, but I've never noticed all the mistakes I'm seeing now. I'm horrified that I even posted this! I went through reading this thinking, "Wait... I thought I fixed that..." to "Oh no, I should take this down!" and freaking out. I'm so sorry ladies and gents, if I had noticed sooner how bad this chapter was... it would have never reached your eyes! What I've done now is clean it up a bit. There are still some parts that I know need fixing, but I'm not sure how.

My writing and posting late at night(maybe night period, after this incident), just to meet my self-imposed deadline, will have to stop. Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, for even reading this...

Please tell me if I have made it better or worse.

To **anonymous** reviews, you will find my replies at the bottom of my profile page. They will remain up to about a week's time from the last story's update.

-.

Too old to date Author's note: I meant to update sooner because the last chapter was so pathetic(I might revise it and clean it up a bit later, but for now I would like to move on), but my brothers wouldn't let me on, our refrigerator died, and my cat was killed a couple days ago by a roaming dog and I just couldn't write after that. The story would have turned so depressing then... Anyways, I hope this chapter is better.

Oh, by the way, even though I have been writing fan fics for years, I've never had the courage to allow anyone to actually read them. . So, any comments and suggestions to improve are greatly appreciated!

**.**

**At the Edge of the Sword**

**Chapter 2**

**Contingency**

**.**

It was the last situation he ever thought he would be in.

A captive to the humans.

Oh, they thought he was just an ordinary car, Edge had over heard that much as the workers had loaded him up into the cargo hold of an airplane. It had been at that moment that he had seriously considered transforming into his alternate mode and escaping while he still had the chance. Who knew where the airplane would take him? But, in his attempt to escape, he might expose his underlining weakness. As well as alert any enemies of his current position.

The lack of a functioning Visual Receptor made him extremely vulnerable. Edge knew his enemies would exploit that liability once they acquired the knowledge. Therefore, it was imperative that he should remain hidden until he could make contact with his teammates. He was holding out hope that they would have a planet side medic available when he did.

Until then... he would have to play the part.

The airplane hit a turbulence, shaking the cargo hold that held the lone mech. As he waited to whatever fate the airplane took him toward, Edge was not completely inactive. He ran diagnostics trying to pinpoint the exact location of the problem. His circuitry was on the frizz from the rough landing. Giving his operating systems the allusion everything was just Primus.

Clearly, his programs were glitching.

With a frustrated vent, the ebony mech settled in for the long ride. In a way, it was partly his fault for not going in to the aid station when he had had the chance. Joors back, he had noticed a few glitches in his visual optics. Rather than check in to see the medic, Edge had foolishly moved on, hoping that it was just a slight malfunction that would soon right itself. After all, that was what nanites were for, wasn't it?

Instead, it had only gotten worse. His default not alerting him to the problem until it was too late. When a bandit had landed a direct hit on a sensitive area of his circuitry- completely snapping out his optics- he had anxiously waited for them to reboot. When they hadn't, he tried a risky move by rerouting power in case a energy cable had snapped. Nothing had worked. Edge shivered at memory of the first couple of breems blind. Absolutely no visual, and the fear that came with it. Luckily, the bandits had turned chassis and sped away- once finding he was not an easy prey- of course, that had been right after he was blinded. The made his whirling processor turn to a completely different matter.

Defense, and how he was to fight. Waiting for the duration of his scanners to complete would be too slow in a brawl. His sensors would only pick up on the impending danger after it was too late.

None of that really mattered, he reminded himself, so much as laying low and staying below the radar. If need be, his best defense would be speed and maybe a lot of random chance. _A lot._

Finding nothing else to do, Edge drifted off into recharge. He would wait...

~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/...

Lester Carson grinned as he drove up to his father's workshop. Today, he had fulfilled the dream's of his boyhood. The focal point of his life. He bought a car, but not just any normal car. A Koenigsegg Agera.

The garage door was open, Lester pulled right in and stopped at the entrance. His brother was at the back, bent over working on his race-car's radiator. He glanced up, did a double take, before straightening with a frown crossing his features. He walked over to the Agera, his hands never stopping from their task of cleaning a gear nut with a stained cloth. Lester hopped out of his car closing the door lightly behind him, grinning all the way.

"What did you get now?" Dewey's voice was one of both curiosity and annoyance. "Please say this is a rental car..." His eyes fell onto gleaming hood and polished wheels. Lester's grin widened.

"I wouldn't call it just a car, Dew."

Dewey shook his head as he appraised his brother's newest, _expensive_ toy.

"You didn't."

"But, I _did_."

"If you wanted to drive something fast you should've asked me," Dewey said, gesturing to the race car that sat idly in the back.

"I wanted something that was both fast and _sleek_," Lester responded, seriously. His brother looking mildly offended, he quickly added, "And something I can drive on the street. Come see, I know you're just dying to check out the engine," he cajoled, patting his supercar's hood.

Dewey gave the long-suffering sigh that elder siblings are prone to give, before accommodating the architect's desires.

~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/...

"Okay, I admit, it is nice," Dewey responded grudgingly, peering into the interior.

"I knew you would like it," his younger brother smiled broadly.

"What's not to like... wait, that's not a Koenigsegg, is it?" he asked, eying the steering wheel. A confused and alarmed look crossing his face.

"Agera , to be precise."

"What- Lester!" he exploded, running a dark, greasy hand down his face, the object that had previously drew his attention seemingly forgotten."Dad's going to have a fit. How much did it cost?"

"_I_'ve been saving for years," Lester defended, "You seem to forget that I'm still single. And..." the architect dragged out the word, "I have no one to take care of, but _mono_."

"Yeah. That's great," Dewey responded flatly, blinking, "But have you ever heard of investments? You could have helped a company _and_ grew your money. Not waste it."

"This _is_ a investment," Lester persisted.

"One that drops twenty percent just driving off the showroom."

"It's a super-car. It'll hold it's value better."

"What happens if you have a wreck? What if someone steals it? You could just park under a tree and next thing you know, it's totaled! What if-"

"Relax, Dewey, I've thought this over. Nothings going to happen. Sheesh, you act like the car's just going to up and walk away..."

"That's just silly."

"My point exactly," Lester said with a huff, smiling, he added, "Now, how about you take a chill pill and we'll go for a ride."

~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/...

From his spot in the parking lot, Edge could see Dewey stand up from his position at the table to catch a glance at the Agera. Listening in, Edge could hear Lester fussing at the NASCAR driver for being so paranoid and that the Agera wasn't just going to up and wander off.

As if Edge could do that. The valet seated right beside never let his eyes stray from the idle car. Dewey having left orders that no car was to be parked within a ten feet radius of the Koenigsegg, and in no circumstance was the boy to lay a finger on the vehicle.

This made Edge feel very conspicuous in a packed parking lot. _So much for blending in._

Lester had _drove_(he still couldn't get over that he was obeying the whims of a... squishy) to a local upper-class restaurant somewhere near _Los Angeles_, California. Edge had contemplated scanning another vehicle and just driving off, but that required time away from prying eyes and the schematics to create a hologram for a driver, both of which he did not have.

Edge scanned the valet again to see if he had left; the boy's eyes had never left his chassis. Edge repressed a vent. If this was to be the most prevalent way of treatment he would just take the risk of driving off. Hoping an observant individual or police wouldn't notice.

But he was stuck here. His duty was not extremely hard, all he had to do is wait; but for a young mech who had only known constant activity all his life, it was agonizing. He didn't feel like some form of transportation vehicle, or some weird kind of pet, but a slave who had to be constantly watched. Yes, it was repulsive. How dare he let them treat him this way. If they only knew the power he held; none would come near him.

...~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/...

When they had finished stuffing their faces Dewey was the one to hop into the driver's seat. Lester passing the valet with a generous tip, before sliding into the passenger's. Edge grudgingly obeyed when the racecar driver turned the keys. Broiling silently, his engine turned on, exceptionally hot.

On any ordinary circumstances, they would cower at the mere presence of him. They would run in fear like many organics he had seen in the past. _But they knew nothing of him._ They blissfully locked themselves up in his interior not _even_ giving a thought that things may not be what they seemed. Their trust was... strange. Of course, if they knew he was not actually just a car, their reactions to him may not be so favorable. That he, a scout class mech in the Decepticon army, would bend to the will of a drop sized organic, was stifling.

Edge withered as much as a car could, the reality of his situation hitting him head on. _He couldn't do anything_. _He was useless!_

Repulsed with self loathing, he braked. The realization of what he was doing dawning on him at the last moment. At what was being done to him. He was, in essence, a slave. And it sickened him.

No longer able to stand the thought of complying with the creature's mere wants, Edge had stopped. His logic programing overrode, he needed to stay hidden until he was contacted by his teammates. What could he do if he was caught? Until then, what better place than with a unsuspecting human? To the young mech, _nothing had ever been so difficult._

He canceled the command quickly, but not soon enough for them not to notice the sudden lurch in the car.

"Why did you do that?" demanded Lester, giving his brother an odd look while he instinctively gripped the door's handle bar.

"I didn't," Dewey ground out, his eyes running quickly over the dash board, "The engine light's not on..." he muttered, pulling over onto the side of the road. "Maybe the wires are crossed..."

Edge almost, _almost_ made an indignant sound to the Cybertorian insult. Only when it crossed his processor that the creature would be unfamiliar with off-world colloquialism did he resigned himself to tolerate it. These... _humans_ knew nothing of his kind. He would have to be patient with their failings... and that frustrated him.

Dewey gave a quick, one over the engine before closing the hood and climbing back into the driver's seat. "I'll give it a closer look once we're back at the garage. For now, we'll just listen for the problem."

"I just got the car, Dew."

"Still... sudden lurching is not normal."

At the garage, the squishy had excessively poked and prodded underneath Edge. When the vermin had finally moved to below the Agera's hood a little accident involving a hood on head impact had mysteriously happened. The squishy, finally taking the hint, gave up.

"Well, I can't find anything," stated Dewey, rubbing the back of his head. "There's a layer of dust from shipping that you should at least wash off, before Dad sees what you've got yourself into."

"I knew you would see it my way," responded Lester happily, grinning, as they locked up the garage. Leaving the lights on, a innocent looking camera facing right where the two pricey vehicles stood.

Edge scanned the race car. Knowing it wasn't sentient, but hoping nonetheless. It had been a while since the scout had talked, face to face with his own kind. The results came in the negative, not sentient.

This was going to be a long night.

~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/~*/...

This chapter was suppose to be about six pages long, but, as I explained the circumstances, I was lucky to get this much up before my set time-frame. I'm hoping to post one chapter per week, by the end of Friday.

Don't worry, we're not going to focus on these OCs(besides Edge, that is.) for too much longer. I'm still setting up the scene for... well, you'll just have to wait and see...

.~

**Now that that is... tolerable. **

**There has been at least one thing I have learned from this experience: I now have a whole new respect for those who post stories. XD Tough work...**

**Again, I thank all of you who bothered to review that awful work. Hopefully, I'll never post something like it again!**

**p.s. If you spot anymore mistakes, do tell! I combed the chapter as well as I could, but- looking at past incidences- sometimes it's just not good enough.**

**Remember, I'll only improve if you review!**

_**Salutos.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** So for the extra long wait, I have an extra long chapter! :) I've already got the next couple of chapters planned out. And I promise they'll be up as soon as possible.

A special thanks to my beta-reader, **Dearborn**! Without your help- well, we know from previous examples how it would have turned out. ;)

Also, I thank those who have hung in there even with all these rough spots and all the revamping. You don't know how much I appreciate you doing so. Thank you!

To **anonymous** reviews, you will find my replies at the bottom of my profile page. They will remain up to about a weeks time from the last story's update.

I encourage questions, so if there's something in my story that you don't understand or just doesn't make sense, don't be afraid to ask! I answer all reviews.

**.**

**At the Edge of the Sword**

**Chapter 3**

**In the Presence of my Enemies**

**.**

The life of the organic sentients of Earth was to Edge unsurprisingly boring. The most mundane and simplest of tasks, which would only take mere seconds, often took hours to be performed. Most of the architect's time was spent in his office; and, when he wasn't in the office, he was driving to and from work or sleeping (these primitive life-forms needed about nine hours of sleep per cycle!). This left the mech with as much free time to do nothing as he could ever want. It was like nothing Edge had ever experienced. From his Sparking he had been set to a rigorous schedule of military discipline. None of his time had ever been this idle.

But _if_ there was one thing that Edge did appreciate about the humans, it was the weekly schedule of washing and waxing he received from a sparkling squishy. It felt nice to relax under the cool water of a hose, and Edge always went away feeling refreshed. He had never been this clean in his life! That made waiting in a parking garage for hours on end much bearable. Of course, there was only so long you could wait.

The ebony mech received a hailing from a Decepticon frequency and pulled it up to see his master's signature. Relieved for re-established contact with his own and eager to finally have his optics repaired, Edge opened the connection immediately.

Megatron didn't sound happy. Actually, the way he had ground his vocal gears as he said the mech's name concerned the young 'Con.

"Yes, sir?" Edge responded hesitantly, pulling up past memory banks to try to figure out why his superior would be angry at him... _this time_.

It was an order.

Edge sent the exact coordinates. He almost added a reminder about his optic receptors, but thought better of it. His leader would not want to be bothered with such matters.

"_You will meet up with the Pretender, alias Alice, and will assist her in capturing Sam Witwicky, also __known as ladiesman217. I'm sending you the coordinates now along with a profile on what we know about Witwicky. In it you will also find a visual to aid you in recognizing him. _Megatron paused, before adding, _I cannot stress the importance of this mission. Failure is not an option, Lieutenant. Do I make myself clear?"_

Edge answered in the affirmative, giving the customary "All Hail Megatron!" at the end just as the connection was severed. With a slightly irritated huff, Edge pulled out of the parking spot, using his memory grid of Lester's drive to keep from running into anything. He felt guilty about not being as respectful to their leader as he ought even if it was only behind his back (somehow that seemed just as bad) but he found it tedious to be respectful when one was treated like that...

A car honked incredibly close, and there was a screech of tires as it veered off to the side. Edge briefly wondered what that was about, but continued down. Humans were hardly proficient drivers and were prone to take too long in doing the simplest of tasks such as going down a parking garage. Usually, it took Lester 2.473 earth minutes. Edge found himself down and out in less than 3 seconds.

Crossing the intersection was slightly difficult, but he made it, thanks to the GPS (and the fact that he could connect with the human's information/communication source anytime he wanted to). Using his audio receptors, Edge hopped behind a car that seemed to be going the same way; by following it, it granted that he wouldn't run into anything. In a game of Follow the Spark he played that when he was young he hopped behind another car when the previous one turned from the path his GPS had marked. The journey to the college was, for the most part, uneventful. There were a few random acts of sudden collisions (of other cars of course), of picture taking (twice, but that in itself was normal), and of screaming (only once, thankfully, but Edge still wasn't sure what that was about). Humans were constantly foiling something, but this seemed more so than usual. Edge felt that he was missing something some very important information.

As he arrived at the campus, the gravel cracked underneath his tires, but his audio receptors were focused elsewhere. The wail of the humans fire trucks, as well as the confused and alarmed shouts of people, pierced the air. There was a continuous sound of splashing water, along with the crackle of a fire.

To an experienced mech like Edge, the whole scene reeked of a battle.

After attempting to hail Alice with no response, Edge scanned the chaotic scene, trying to locate the Pretender. His gears churned uneasily when the scanner made the full arc of the campus with no returning signal. He was just about to end it when a ping answered his scanner. It didn't come from anywhere his processor had thought to look. Instead, it came from directly _underneath_him. Shocked, and not a little startled, the Koenigsegg rolled as carefully as he could off of Alice. He scanned for a closer inspection at her, or rather, the remains. It was just pieces.

Clearly, Edge and the other Decepticons had underestimated the human's capabilities.

Megatron would not be happy.

* * *

Megatron wasn't answering his hail and that left Edge at a loss of what to do. Either his leader was too busy to listen to Edge's report or he already knew about the situation and didn't want to answer. Nevertheless, Edge would have to call again later.

Returning to the parking garage, he was relieved and slightly annoyed to find that Lester hadn't noticed his absence. Didn't the humans ever notice anything? The architect was probably still stuck in his office working late again. Just at that moment, Lester burst into parking garage, having just exited from the elevator door.

"No, I already checked around..." Lester was talking to his mobile communications device again. "I told you, it's stolen!" He paused, listening to the answer on the other end. "I AM calm! Look, it's a Koe-" Lester froze; quickly walking over he unlocked the car s door. Hold, please. He briefly checked the interior and exterior for any notable changes. "Nothing. I'm sorry, ma'am, this has been one big mistake... You won't believe this, but I found the car right where I left it." He gave a weak laugh. Apparently, the 'ma'am' on the other side did not find it quiet so humorous. "Yes, ma'am, sorry for the trouble... I won't... Bye." He closed the phone and slipped it into his pocket, his eyes not leaving the parked Agera. He looked around the parking garage as if to find the answers there. Scratching his head, he moved to the driver's seat.

"I could've sworn it was gone..." he muttered, rubbing his forehead.

* * *

It had been a long night at the office, the human having stayed a lengthy joor past his normal departure. Needless to say, Edge was just as eager to arrive at the Carson's garage as he was in leaving. Fog had just settled in on the seemingly never ending road. Occasionally, by the LED lights of the Koenigsegg, shining eyes could be made out, before blinking and disappearing into the dark abyss. It was on one of these quiet roads that Lester failed to properly navigate the winding hills.

Edge, who was resting his scanners he had travelled this road so many times with Lester that he could do it by memory grid didn't notice the lack of command until it was almost too late. Having shifted and dipped with a hill slope, the Agera naturally gained speed from the momentum and started to plummet with the road. Edge subconsciously waited for Lester to apply the brakes, for he knew that the humans unnaturally suppressed themselves with speed control. Edge waited for Lester to do something, but, as they neared a tight turn, Edge's concern spiked. Not for Lester, of course, but for the fact that the 'Con had credited the human with the ability to at least get them home in one piece!

A quick interior bio-scan revealed that the human was in some sort of recharge. If it was anything like a mech's, Edge guessed, it would be no easy matter to wake him. Edge had, by that time, taken over the controls and adjusted the speed to make the turn.

The squishy could have killed them both! Who drops off into recharge in the middle of travelling?

Edge was furious. With a disgruntled rev he eased down the rest of the way before pulling over on the side of the road.

It was when his tires hit the shoulder strip lining the side of the road and made the annoyingly loud BUR BUMP that the squishy decided to wake up. With a yell, the thing jerked up, slamming its foot roughly onto the brakes. Edge flinched at that particular sensitive spot; the squishy misinterpreting that as the car stopping.

The... thing looked around wildly into the darkness before relaxing suddenly and letting out a bated breath. "That," Lester stated, decidedly, "was a close one."

Edge was at that moment scarcely restraining himself from doing great harm to the squishy. The thing scrubbed his face with his hands a few times before shifting the Agera out of park.

For the rest of the way, Edge kept his aching scanners engaged.

* * *

It was the ending of the next day. The Decepticon was still upset at the squishy for having been so reckless the night before. Thankfully, the thing showed more responsibility than previously, leaving the office at an earlier hour.

Arriving at a local bakery, Lester crossed the parking lot. He had come to pick up his parents anniversary cake for the weekend. His mom was especially excited about going off on the trip to-

_WACK_! _SCREET..._

Lester turned around, fearing the worse. Beside his Agera, was a parked SUV. Its owner just got out of the decked out GM, the door still open.

Lester shouted, catching the man's attention, as he advanced. There was now a scratch of white paint standing out starkly against his Agera's black. "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't do nothing!" The guy defended, shrugging his shoulders and looking over the paint mark as if it magically appeared there. "I don't know how that got there!"

Edge quietly seethed while running a quick diagnostic to see the extent of the damage. "How dare he deny it!"

"You're the only one near; besides," Lester added, having calmed down from the initial response,"I heard it." Lester bent down and rubbed the mark with his thumb. It wouldn't come off. Great! Now he'll have to take it to the shop.

"Well, you're wrong."

"Look, I even see the mark on your door," Lester replied, pointing to the inside of the Suburban's door where there was now a mark of black paint.

The guy promptly slammed it shut and continued to press his innocence; but Edge was done hearing. Unhinging his door and rearranging the gears to where it would open horizontally, he quickly scrapped it down the side of the SUV's paintjob. Feeling satisfied, Edge slammed his door shut.

Lester's head jerked up from where he had been discussing with the culprit, a shocked look crossing his face at what he had just witnessed. He stared at his Agera in complete and utter disbelief. The GM's owner whirled around; his eyes going to the gash that stretched all the way across the Suburban's side, to the Agera and back.

"Wha- what did you do to my car, man?" he demanded, getting rather red in the face. Edge listened smugly on. The guy rubbed the scratch; it was going to take more than just a touch up to fix that. Cybertronian metal was much harder than Earth's. "I just got this. Man..." He continued to rub it.

Lester just stood irresolute at how to respond. His _car... had just moved_. No one was in it... _nothing_. It had moved on its own. _Its own free will._

It was impossible! Cars don't move on their own!

Lester pulled out his cell phone and called the one person who always got him out when he was in trouble. His fingers shook as he scrolled down to find the phone-book as he walked to the shelter of a close building. He just had to get away from that car. The dial tone sounded. _Come on... Pick up the phone... please_...

"Dewey! Thank God, l-look." His voice shook a little, Lester struggled to regain control. "There's something wrong with the car, it moved on its own and I don't know what to do!"

"_Um, uh, Lester, check the emergency brakes. You didn't put it in park, did you?"_ Dewey's voice was low, as if he did not want others to hear.

"No! It's in park, but it moved and scratched someone's car with its _door_!"

There was a slight uncomfortable pause.

"_Lester, I don't understand what's going on."_ His voice dropped to a whisper. "_You haven't been __drinking again, have you?"_

"No, you know I quit that. Dewey, I'm serious! _My car_ is _not_ normal. _It scraped_ someone's SUV! And, just last week, it disappeared and then reappeared in the parking garage!"

There was a sudden laugh on the other side of the phone. Lester blinked, thrown off by the sudden change in tone.

"_You've been reading way too many conspiracy theories, brother-"_

"_What_ conspiracy theories?" Lester was at a loss and desperate for answers.

"_-Just, go relax. Take a day off. Oh, hey. Jessica called a few minutes ago looking for you. How about you set up a dinner with her? I'm sure she would love it."_

"_What_? Jessica... but- but the _car_!"

"_I'm sure it will all work out fine. Talk to you later, Les."_

Dewey hung up. Well, his brother had certainly been helpful in the past. Lester turned his eyes back to the possessed car as he folded his cellphone back up. None of it looked like he was hallucinating. Even the police officer, who was dutifully listening to the enraged GM owner, looked real.

"Sir," the police officer said, once Lester had walked over, "I need your statement and proof of insurance."

Yes, this was _definitely_ real.

* * *

Arriving at the garage, Lester quickly put the car in park and hurried away from the Koenigsegg. As if he didn't have enough problems in life, he now had a possessed car! To make matters worse, the bakery had closed before he could make it in. He would have to call and apologize to the owner for being late and ask if he could pick the cake up tomorrow, even though they were normally closed that day.

He sighed, and wondered if he was going crazy. Perhaps he needed to go on vacation. Whatever the case, he would certainly not be taking the Agera out tomorrow.

* * *

Edge was desperate. It would be a long shot and a huge risk, but it was one the Decepticon would have to take. He was pressed for time, and something was happening. After such a long period with no response from Megatron or Starscream, Edge was forced to conclude something had happened.

If he ever wanted to see again, if he ever wanted to be of any use, he would have to do the unthinkable. He would have to ask the humans for help.

Edge had debated on asking Lester, but as the human was too suspicious of the Agera now after that slip up with the GM, Edge was not going risk it. Perhaps the young squishy...

The garage door rolled open. His attention turned to the sound of the two sparkling humans as they entered the garage. From what Edge had noted over the passing weeks, the boy had the tendency to talk to inanimate objects as if they could converse back. At first, the boy's behavior had puzzled and alarmed the young mech, who thought that he had been somehow discovered. But the 'Con soon realized that his fears were unfounded as he observed the boy working on his car everyday and _talking_ to it as he did so.

Edge scanned the two sparklings. Normally, there was only one, but if the second one hung around that would only complicate the Decepticon's plans. The fewer who knew about Edge the better.

"C'mon, I want to show you something," said the leading one, a male of some 15 earth years, Edge supposed. The young human was the one who came every week.

"What now, Ethan?" the girl whined. She sounded slightly younger than her counterpart. Or maybe that was just because of the whining. Already ill disposed toward the girl, Edge continued to listen. "It's not that race car you're building again, is it?"

"No, I promise it's not. Here, feel it."

The Agera felt a sudden warm spot on his hood. The human girl was _touching_ him. As if seeing wasn't enough...

The girl s face scrunched up in anticipation of something unpleasant, but quickly relaxed into contemplation.

She frowned, rapping her hands softly against the hood. "It's a car," she said blankly. "Did you buy a car?"

The boy laughed in amusement. "No, I could never buy this. It's a Koenigsegg Agera R and my uncle's new _super_car."

"Oh, wow, amazing," she said with the same former enthusiasm, her hand running up the Agera's hood as she walked toward the window. Edge longed to shake the replusing thing off.

"It's coal black with a inverted, red chevron on its hood," Ethan described. "It's nice and sleek, though its face kinda reminds me of a cross between a fish and a bird."

The girl's sour mood turned aright as she burst out laughing at the comment. Edge soured at that comment, and soured even more as Ethan patted his hood as if he had offended a dog. The girl's echoing laughter did not help to settle his mood. She took a moment to compose herself before asking, "Why are you showing me this?"

"It takes a while to wash and wax a car; so I was wondering if you would like to help."

"Do I get paid?"

"Always, Chloe," answered Ethan, unknowingly revealing the girl s name to Edge. Ethan commented suddenly, "It's not working."

"What isn't?"

"The keys; they won't unlock the doors." Ethan tried again, this time succeeding. "Okay, I got it. Here," he passed Chloe the keys. "Do you remember how to put it in neutral?"

"Of course," she huffed at the mere suggestion of her forgetting such a simple task.

"Just checking. Watch out for the dihedral synchro-helix doors."

"_What?_ Never mind, I think I got it."

With the air of someone who had done this before, Chloe slid into the driver's seat. Her hand felt for the ignition. Edge was quickly becoming irritated at all the touching and feeling this was worse than Lester's first day. Once finding it, she turned the key and placed the Agera in neutral.

"Are you ready?" she asked Ethan.

"Yes, just keep the wheel straight," the boy replied from his spot at the back of the Koenigsegg. "He pushed forward and the car moved forward slowly. Edge made his gears stick, consequently making the wheels move that much slower.

"Ugh, didn't realize it was this heavy," Ethan struggled, pushing with all his might. "You don't have your foot on the brake, again, do you?"

"No," she replied with a light laugh, "That was funny enough the first time."

When Ethan finally got the Agera outside, he was sweating profusely. "Okay, you know the drill."

"I'll turn on the radio before we start."

Edge resisted a twitch as the girl ran her hand across his dashboard and down to the dial. With a click, the radio turned on.

"_...Still no response from Washington on the supposed hijacking of a TV network demanding to... hand over a kid? Can you believe this, Jack?"_

"_No, I can't... what's his name? Sam Witty... Witwictty?"_

"_Odd name."_

"_Anyways, some... group called..."_ dramatic pause complete with music "_The Fallen-"_ there were laughs, the guy in the background making a comment about the lack of originality "A_re searching for you Sam Witwicly or whatever-your-last-name-is. So, beware!"_ The humans laughed, but Edge's thoughts were elsewhere. The Fallen was here? When had he come?

"Just change it, Chloe. That's a rerun or those people are just behind on the facts."

Chloe flipped to a classical station.

"What do you know about it?" she asked after a moment.

"It's all just a publicity stunt. The network came out apologizing this morning," Ethan responded, hosing down the hood.

At the news of the Fallen, Edge started hailing the other Decepticon's starting from the top and working to the bottom. None responded. Edge tried again, and again, and again. Nothing was working.

Even more desperate for answers, Edge turned to the humans. Could he ask? Should he? Edge prepared himself. He had no choice, he reasoned, turning over the thought of asking for help from humans no less.

Would Starscream or Megatron ask for help? He debated. No, defintly not, but they wouldn't have found themselves in his situation either.

With a feeling of self loathing at what he was about to do, Edge resigned himself.

It was now, or never.

By now, the two young humans were drying the Agera off with long, thick towels.

How was he to start this? He didn't want to scare them to where they would be of no help. He would have to be subtle with them.

Edge turned his engine and lights on.

"Hey, you left the keys in." Ethan moved to open the door, but it was locked. He jiggled it a few times. Great... now I'll have to get the spare. Edge heard the youth's steps retreat.

"Halt!" he commanded.

Ethan looked around, everywhere except at the source.

"Who was that?" asked Chloe, becoming uneasy.

"I don't know..."

The Agera's engine growled louder in irritation. "It is me."

Again, the squishy failed to put two and two together.

"ME!" Edge flashed his lights again, but it was lost on Chloe. No matter, it wasn't her help he wanted.

"What? A car?"

"Who's speaking, Ethan?"

"You won't believe this," Ethan replied with a light laugh. "It's the Agera."

"The car's speaking!" Ethan answered Chloe's question in the affirmative. "That's impossible!"

"Who are you?" asked Ethan, confused and still uncertain if this was some kind of joke or not. Edge was silent; obviously he couldn't tell the truth to the humans. Judging by the reactions on their communications devices, they were already suspicious of aliens.

"I think we should call the police, Ethan," Chloe said, nervously.

"No!" Edge interposed quickly. He had to think of something.

"Then who- _what_ are you?" demanded Ethan, over the initial shock of the discovery that his Uncle's car talked.

"Are you running from someone?" Chloe asked, suddenly.

"Yes... but it must be kept a secret. You cannot tell anyone."

"But why?"

"Because, if they find me, I will be in a lot of- trouble. That is why I must stay hidden."

"Why are you telling us this now? I mean, you've stayed quiet, like a normal car, the whole time here. Why now?"

"I need your-" Edge struggled to say the word; finally his gears ground out the word, "-Help."

There, it was out. There was no going back. He had actually asked the squishies for help.

If any of the other Decepticons were here he would never be able to live it done. Of course, if any of them were here he wouldn't be in this situation!

"With what?" Chloe responded.

"Ethan, you've had experience with mechanics, correct?"

"Um, yeah... I still don't understand-"

"I need you to look under my hood and see if you can find anything out of the ordinary. Any sparks, loose wires, anything that would lead you to believe there is a problem."

Edge raised his hood up, giving enough space for the boy to peak through. Ethan uneasily came forward.

"Uhm... okay." The human tentatively looked around, as if the Agera would suddenly become one of those man eating cars in old horror flicks.

"What kind of problem am I looking at?" came Ethan's muffled voice from behind the hood.

"I think a severed line to my optics, but I am uncertain."

"Wait, does that mean, you're, like, blind? Like me?" questioned the girl. _Blind? The girl was blind? __Then that would explain much. _The mech's curiosity peaked.

"In your terms, yes. But I still have other options of 'seeing'."

"How did you become that way?"

"Undetermined." Edge did not elaborate further.

The two teenagers lapsed into uncomfortable silence. After all, they had only just discovered their Uncle's car talked.

Curious, the young mech couldn't help but ask, "Are your optics severely impaired?"

"What?" asked Chloe, puzzled.

"Will you acquire your sight again?'

"Um, no..." she said uncomfortably.

Ethan straightened up. "That's rude," he rebuked. "You should be more courteous; you just don't go about asking people why they're blind."

Edge did a rerun of the memory. He had never been reprimanded by someone so insignificantly small before. "Who did that squishy think he w-"

"It's okay, Ethan, I've come to terms with it," Chloe said, suddenly. "Look, uhm, car, do you have a name?" Edge saw no risk in giving it. "Edge... I lost my sight in a chemistry accident at my school. Since then, I've come to terms that I will never see again."

_Never?_ To the mech, the possibility of being forever blind was horrifying (though he would never admit it), but it was one he knew he would never have to face. Cybertronians were far more advanced than the earthlings.

Unlike him, humans didn't have the array of systems and scanners that he used to get around. The scout's curiosity got the better of him; he had to ask.

"Then how do you ambulate?"

"What!" Ethan jerked up and looked at the car's driver seat then at his headlights. He couldn't decide which one was it.

"It means: 'to walk about or move from place to place', if I am correct. It is an English word, is it not?"

"Yeah... it is." Ethan conceded, looking at the car's engine and feeling not a little bit foolish_._ "It's just one we don't use very often."

"To answer your question, Edge," said Chloe softly, "There are ways. Normally, I have a sort of cane with me, but sometimes with Ethan, it's nice not to have to haul it around. So, he just leads me. Other than that, I've learned to use the sun some. I kind of like to make a game of it, in a way."

"You think it's fun?" Edge was incredulous.

"It used to be pretty frustrating, I admit, and sometimes it still feels so over whelming, but I've learned to see my impairment as a gift."

_Blindness a gift?_ Edge scoffed, _Hardly_.

"Hey, I think I found something," interrupted Ethan. Edge felt the human's hands grasped onto something behind his headlights.

"Found what?" asked a voice from the garage.

Ethan immediately dropped what he was doing, and jumped up. "Oh... hey dad," he greeted and closed the Agera's hood, wiping his hands on his pants leg.

"Hello, Mr Carson."

"Evening, Chloe, how's your mom?" asked Dewey, exiting the garage.

Edge silently waited, listening to the steps approach and hoping that the two youths wouldn't expose his secret.

"Fine, sir, but her back is still giving her trouble."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Dewey neared his son. "What's going on? I thought your uncle gave express orders not to turn that car on."

"He did," Ethan said, faltering. "I... I disobeyed."

"Then you'll have to tell him what you've done," his father answered sternly, opening the Agera's door and turning the engine off. "Are you finished?"

"No, sir, I haven't waxed E- it, yet."

"Then you know what to do. I expect no more of this. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Both of the teenagers were quiet as Ethan's father walked away. Edge waited uncomfortably as Ethan started to quietly wax his fender, Chloe buffing behind him. The human male had done more than just keep silent about the secret. Ethan had placed the blame on himself after Edge's slip up. If the mech had kept his scanners running, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't feel... indebted to the youth.

Not that he actually did in any way. That would just be stupid. He owed nothing to these beings.

"I need to finish up as soon as possible," Ethan said quietly as he worked. "I'll be back tomorrow when I come in to work."

At that moment, what little obligation that Edge had felt went flying out the door.

"_What_?" he demanded.

"Calm down," Ethan stressed, "I have to finish this early so I can get home to study for an exam tomorrow. If I don't pass, my dad won't let me race this weekend."

"I AM calm," Edge snapped. He was NOT going to wait twenty-four hours for his sight to be restored. "You can't just-" at that moment, Edge fell silent, his scanners having picked up Dewey returning.

"You almost done, Ethan?" asked Lester, Edge having mistaken the human's signature.

"Yes, sir, just give me a few more minutes."

"That's fine; I can wait."

"Are you going out tonight?" asked Ethan, noticing Lester's suit and polished shoes.

Edge tuned the conversation out, quietly seething. He wasn't going to wait until tomorrow to have his optics repaired. Already, he had wasted enough time as it was.

* * *

"Really?" Jessica was giving him an odd look as he escorted her out of her house. Lester had just told her what had happened yesterday. "That _is_ strange," she commented.

"You don't believe me?" It wouldn't surprise him; Lester still doubted it himself.

"I - don't know. I've never heard of cars that move on their own before."

"Look, I'll show you the mark." They neared the Agera, but Lester didn't see the scratch. Now that he thought back, he hadn't notice it at the garage either. He moved to the other side, thinking that he had somehow just had which side it was on confused. But neither was it on that side, he checked the other side again. "Uhmm," he opened the Agera's door for her and forced a smile at his date. "You ready?"

Quietly, she slipped into the seat. When Lester eased in and started the Koenigsegg, she cleared her throat.

"Your brother..." she hesitated, "He told me you've had a stressful week."

"This has nothing to do with the contract with the government." Lester snapped, turning onto the highway. "Look, I even have a copy of the police report if you want to read."

"No, that's okay," her voice wavered.

Lester softened, glancing quickly at her before turning his eyes back to the road.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "Dewey was right, I do need to relax."

"Well," she recovered, "I'm good for any excuse to get away from the computer," she smiled, and relaxed into the seat.

"How is that book of yours going?"

"Huhmp, I'm surprised you even remembered; you never commented on it," she said good naturedly, crossing her arms and looking the other way.

"Well, excuse me if I find giant robots conspiring with our government a little over the top."

She turned back to him. "But there _are_ facts pointing to the possibility that alien robots are on earth."

"Then where are they hiding? It is hard to believe something that big could be kept so well hidden."

_You have no idea, _Edge thought, with a smirk. It was good to hear that their existence was being kept hidden.

"The government's in on it; that's why it's kept so under wraps. You know, they'll hide everything!"

Lester gave her a disapproving glance, but said nothing. That was Jessica's cue for a change in subject.

"So, where are we going tonight?"

"I was thinking about _El Caballo_. What do you want?"

"It sounds good to me."

* * *

Edge, still sulking over the fact that he would have to wait another day, had made their ride as rough as possible, instead of gliding over the bumps in the road and allowing his shocks to take the brunt of the impact. Edge had went with and even made the rough spots worse than they actually were. Jessica had commented on the rough ride, Lester, whose thoughts seemed elsewhere, didn't seem to notice. After that, it wasn't long until the young mech had tried of it with his struts having started to ache, he stopped.

It had been a normal enough evening for Lester. Having taken his girlfriend out for the night he was in good was a late night drive down a near secluded highway when things started to go awry.

When Edge heard sirens from behind. Lester changed lanes onto the right and continued on as normal, waiting for, what Edge guessed, the emergency vehicle to pass. Having contented himself to quietly seething over the turn of events, Edge thought nothing more of the vehicle until Jessica suddenly announced that a police car was directly behind them.

"Are you speeding, Lester?" she asked, turning in her seat to look out at the trailing cop.

Lester glanced at the speedometer as he slowed down to pull over and replied in the negative. "I only just got the car so the tags should be in order," he replied, confused as to the purpose of being pull over.

"It's probably just a mistake then," offered Jessica.

Stopping on the side of the road, Lester pulled the Agera in park and waited. Edge listened uneasily as the police car pulled up beside them. Lester rolled the driver's window down.

"What seems to be the problem, officers?" he asked.

The officers didn't respond immediately, but after a moment one ordered, "I need you to step out of the vehicle."

That had set off red flags in Edge's processor. Lester and Jessica had exchanged looks, but had nonetheless got out.

"Move to the side of the road," he ordered.

Suddenly, things weren't so good. Activating his scanner Edge probed the cop's car. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary until he had switched to a bio-scan. It was then that Edge noticed what was missing. There were _no humans_.

At the next moment, Edge shifted out of park, slamming the still open doors shut. The only thing his audio receptor received was the screech of rubber burning on pavement as he took off. The Dodge Charger trailing right behind him.

* * *

I bet you've already guessed who the police car is. ;)

As a finale note, I regret to say that I may not be able to place as much attention to the story as I have previously done. Family issues have come up so I don't think I will be able to update weekly. And on top of other things, we have a farm to take care of(planting season is here; and the weeds have taken over) and the whole house to repaint and remake.

This is not a message to say I am stopping, but merely one to say it might take a few weeks to update.

Don't forget to review! I'll only be able to improve if you do!

So, until later...

_**Salutos.**_


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